Wallonia's government decided on Thursday to extend the deer and wild boar hunting season to 31 January, it announced in a press release issued after the latest Council of Ministers meeting.
"Deer and wild boar populations are increasing in Wallonia, as throughout Europe, due to climate change and favourable conditions for their reproduction," the Walloon government explained. "On a regional scale, this overpopulation is putting excessive pressure on forest ecosystems and posing major health risks such as African swine fever."
According to information posted on Wallonia's biodiversity portal, www.wallonie.be., there were about 18,000 to 19,000 deer in the region in 2022, a 25% increase on the 2019 figure.
Wallonia's wildlife authorities also report increases in wild boar populations in recent years.
